Press Release

NIU College of Law Recognized as One of the Top 50 Most Diverse Law Schools

December 21, 2012

DeKalb, Ill.--Northern Illinois University College of Law was named as one of the top 50 most diverse law schools in the nation by the National Jurist magazine. NIU Law made the list as part of the publication’s “Most Diverse Law Schools” article in its November 2012 issue.

“I am particularly proud of our law school's recognition for diversity among its faculty and students, which is one of the reasons our community is so special,” said Dean Jennifer Rosato, who is one of only four latina law school Deans in the nation. She added, “Our commitment to diversity is deep and long-standing.”

As the only public law school in the northern tier of Illinois, NIU Law is consistently recognized for its core values including diversity, public service, engagement, and access. Reflective of its diversity, the NIU Law student body is 21 percent minority. NIU Law’s full-time, tenure-track faculty is 40% people of color and 40% women. The College also has received diversity honors from the U.S. News and World Report, Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, and the Council on Legal Education, among others. In the 2011 edition of Best 172 Law Schools, NIU Law was ranked ninth in the nation among schools with the most diverse faculty by the Princeton Review. NIU Law has been on this list nearly every year since 2005.

The National Jurist’s rankings took into account the percentage of the student body and faculty that were minorities at each school in the study, comparing those figures to the national percentage of minorities in the general population.

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For more information, contact:Melody MitchellAlumni Events & Public Relations(815) 753-9655 or mmitchell@niu.edu